All posts tagged ‘Valkyrie’

In the middle of a fight, a little bit of romance. Fearless Defenders #1, Marvel Comics

Today, in the adventures climbing the cliffs of insanity, we visit some of my favorite superhero couples, take a look at the unexpected romantic moment in Marvel’s The Fearless Defenders, and I will contemplate the place of romance in our society with a look at the backlash spawned by my Audi commercial post.

While I am giving away a copy of the 64-page Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine’s Day Special, I confess none of my favorite superhero romances are in there, with the exception of Batman and Catwoman, who were the best thing about The Dark Knight Rises.

My all-time favorite couple is Lois and Clark because they’re so perfect for each other. It’s not a mistake that every incarnation of Superman on the big and small screen has included Lois and Clark in some form. A great Batman story can be written without Catwoman. A great Superman story without Lois? I imagine it can be done but it would be far more difficult.

I’m looking forward Lois and Clark in the upcoming Man of Steel movie, though the Young Romance special is intent on selling me on Wonder Woman and Superman. Even all of DC hasn’t totally committed to Wonder Woman and Superman. Witness this excellent photo frame on DC’s official product page with classic Lois and Clark images.

Wesley Dodds and Dian Belmont, the stars of Sandman Mystery Theatre, a 1990s title from Vertigo, DC’s adult division, is my next favorite couple Theirs is one of the most sophisticated and complicated romances in comics, taking place over the entire run of the series, which is set against the backdrop of a seriously crime-ridden 1930s New York City. Wesley has shown up in the new 52 Earth-2 series but there’s no sign of the personality of old Wesley from this book so I’ll have to be content with my trades for now.

Over at Marvel, Reed Richards and Sue Storm seem the one couple in comics destined to never break up. Which is awesome, because the cerebral Reed is perfectly matched with the more worldly Sue. There have been times when the pair have been parted temporarily but perhaps because the Fantastic Four is essentially the story of a family, they’ve stayed together and changed with the times. Sue has morphed from a girlfriend/wife and secondary member of the superhero team to gaining added powers and confidence, so now she stands as equal to Reed.

There are so many other great romances in comics but very few of those couples stay together, perhaps on the feeling that readers don’t like married couples?

Spider-Man was famously de-coupled from Mary Jane in a Marvel story that literally had him making a deal with the devil to exchange his marriage for the life of Aunt May, Barry Allen and his longtime love, Iris West, are not together in the new 52, nor is there any sign of Scott Free and Big Barda or Ralph and Sue Dibny. Black Canary and Green Arrow were never together in the new 52, though we might see them in the Arrow television show, and the Batman and Catwoman romance which had grown more solid over the years in DC Comics is back basically to square one, save for sexytimes with their masks on.

My other favorite romance is incredibly obscure and also currently non-existent. Jim Gordon and Sarah Essen were a star-crossed couple in Batman: Year One but received a happy ending in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, both written by Frank Miller, not usually known as a sappy romantic. Alas, Sarah was killed off (not by Miller) in previous continuity by the Joker. She seems to not exist in the new rebooted 52, which is something of an improvement. Limbo is a little better than death.

There’s also the unique romance between Liana, Scandal Savage and Knockout, a threesome that vowed to be married in Secret Six before the reboot happened. For more on favorite couples, check out the DCWomenKickingAss tumblr which is holding a romance tournament right now.

But a Valentine’s Day toast to all those couples and to those non-canon couples such as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), and Black Canary and Oracle.